Family Fun Fest, Sept. 10
<bt>The City of Fairfax hosts the fifth annual Family Fun Fest on Saturday, Sept. 10, at Van Dyck Park at 3730 Old Lee Highway. This year, festival-goers can expect an expanded lineup of children’s activities, said Leslie Herman, special events coordinator for City of Fairfax Parks and Recreation department. All activities are free and food is for sale.
Activities at the Fun Fest include carnival games, balloon animals, face painters, a candy workshop and arts and crafts, said Herman. A large mural will also be available for children to color.
The festival will feature 14 inflatables, said Herman, and children can also ride a trackless train.
Entertainment at the festival includes a puppet show by Clowning Around from 3-3:45 p.m., followed by Gonzo’s Nose from 4-5:30 p.m. and Southern Persuasion from 6-7:30 p.m.
Entertainment and children’s activities will wind down at 7:30 p.m., said Herman, and at 8:30 p.m. festival-goers can bring their lawn chairs and blankets for an outdoor showing of "Racing Stripes."
Shuttle buses will run from 2:45-10:30 p.m., from WillowWood Plaza to Van Dyck Park. For more information, visit www.fairfaxva.gov/SpecialEvents/FamilyFunFes/FamilyFunFes.asp or call 703-385-7858.
<sh>Two-Way Traffic Delayed
<bt>Main and North Streets will stay one-way for another year. Fairfax City Council decided Tuesday, Aug. 30 to delay the switch from one-way to two-way traffic until August 2006, said Mayor Rob Lederer. According to Lederer, the timing of the two-way switch coincided with heavy construction starting as part of the downtown Fairfax redevelopment project and would cause too much confusion.
The city will wait until the construction from undergrounding utilities and the old post office site is complete, said city manager Bob Sisson.
<sh>Patriotic Remembrance
<bt>On Sept. 11 at 7 p.m., the City of Fairfax will host a patriotic remembrance event, complete with music and dedication of a memorial bench, at the Veterans Amphitheater next to City Hall, 10455 Armstrong St.
The event will honor the memory of victims of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as well as honor members of the military who have served or are serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Families of these service members will receive special recognition as part of the program.
The event will include a candlelight ceremony and dedication of a memorial bench, and music will be provided by the City of Fairfax Band, the Fairfax High School A Cappella Singers and Lt. Francis Mensah, Fairfax County Fire & Rescue
Department Office of Recruitment. For more, call 703-385-7850.
<sh>Donations Accepted at Burke Festival
<bt>According to the Burke Centre Conservancy, the Burke Centre Festival will have several collection points at which members of the public may make monetary donations for victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and surrounding affected areas. The festive takes place Sept. 10-11, 6060 Burke Centre Parkway, in Burke. Festival-goers can drop their monetary donations in one of the appropriate collection buckets. All proceeds will be sent to the American Red Cross for the benefit of Katrina victims.
<sh>Candidate Forum, Sept. 20
<bt>Providence District Council is sponsoring a Candidate Forum for the 35th and 37th Virginia House of Delegate races on Tuesday, Sept. 20, from 7-9 p.m., at the Fairhill Elementary School cafeteria, 3001 Chichester Lane, Fairfax. The League of Women Voters is serving as the moderator of this event, which is open to the public. Participants may submit questions to the candidates. Participating candidates from the 35th District race are Del. Steve Shannon (D) and Jim Hyland (R). Participating candidates from the 37th District race are David Bulova (D), John Mason (R), Scott McPherson (L) and David Haugh (I).
<sh>Information Sessions with Bulova
<bt>Supervisor Sharon Bulova (D-Braddock) will host two upcoming information sessions. The first, on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m., will be an update on the Burke Centre Library Project. The engineered plan for temporary commuter parking during construction of the Burke Centre VRE parking garage will also be discussed. The meeting will convene at Bulova's office, 9002 Burke Lake Road, Burke.
The second session takes place Thursday, Sept. 29, and will cover Public Works' plans to rehabilitate the dam spillway around Royal Lake. The meeting will be at Bonnie Brae Elementary School, 5420 Sideburn Road, Fairfax.
<sh>CUE Turns 25
<bt>The CUE Bus system is celebrating its 25th birthday on Sept. 27 by offering free rides all day.
The CUE Bus system was started in 1980 as a joint venture between the City of Fairfax and George Mason University, which used what now is Paul VI High School as its "north campus" and its University Drive location as its "main campus."
In August 1980, the City Council agreed to split with GMU the cost of a transit system for use both by students and city residents. Thus began the City University Energysaver (CUE) bus system — with two buses that ran from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. weekdays.
A year later, a capital grant helped fund the system, which remained with its routes until 1986, when the Vienna Metrorail Station opened.
Now, the CUE Bus system has a ridership of nearly 1 million riders a year who travel through the city, to GMU and the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metrorail Station.
For information, visit the city's Web site at www.fairfaxva.gov or call 703-385-7859.
<sh>Braddock Neighborhood College
<bt>The Fairfax County Department of Systems Management for Human Services presents Braddock District Neighborhood College, a program design to educate citizens about what services and programs the county provides, how to address community problems and ways to develop leadership skills to become more involved in the community. The series begins Thursday, Oct. 6, at 6:30 p.m., and continues each Thursday evening through Nov. 10, with graduation scheduled for Nov. 17. All classes take place in Braddock Hall on Burke Lake Road. For more information, call 703-425-9300 or e-mail braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov.